Summer 2001 ~ Newsletter
Pain Management
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Dropping By To Say Hello...
by Tony Siciliano
On March 9th, 2000, my second chance at life came. Two healthy lungs from Mobile, AL arrived at UAB with my name on them. Life, since the transplant, has been, well...a deep breath of fresh air. Today's coughs pale in comparison to those that used to rock my entire body, leaving me breathless and lightheaded. Without the energy spent fighting infection and coughing through the night, it has been easier to gain weight and I am at my all-time high without gulping three cans of Ensure Plus a day.
It is difficult to describe what it has been like following the transplant, but I would sum it up like this: "It is as if my brain regained the wheels it has been missing for so long and now it is ready to run." Three months after the transplant, Chris Brown, who'd received a double-lung transplant in April, and I took a rock climbing class. I've gone downhill skiing, played tennis, golfed, and biked. I've been able to travel on my own without worrying about who will help me with my chest PT. In a year's time, I returned to law school, graduated, sat for the bar exam, and have just recently been hired to work as a judicial law clerk with the Ohio Court of Appeals. My clinics are still at UAB, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone who was a part of the process to get me where my health is today!